Oregon Living 2023 – Blog #36 – A Rainy Trip to Crater Lake & More Family Visiting

 

Sunday, August 20^th., 2023…… The plan today was to mow the yard. Since we are leaving tomorrow morning for Crater Lake, we need to get several things done today. I was up and out early after we walked and fed the dogs. We went to go get breakfast for us and dog food for Jama. After that, I got the mowers out and gassed up and ready.

Penny came over and we started in. It only took about 40 minutes to get everything done since the grass is pretty dry and there’s not too much to cut. We got most everything packed and we are ready to go tomorrow. 

Problem is that we will get rain from Hurricane Hilary. Yes, it will get up to us in the Cascades probably tomorrow night!  It won’t be anywhere near a tropical storm and they say most of it will go more east into Idaho, but they say we have a 70% chance of rain while we are in the Crater Lake area. Oh well, we are still going. We took it easy after mowing and packing and stayed in and watched tv until bedtime. I did make a run out to the well just to check on everything. Looks good and it’s dry!      

Monday, August 21^st., 2023…… We were up early but in no hurry. Our check-in time was 3:00pm at Eagle Crater Lake Inn. But we left around 8:45am after we had the pups out and walked and fed. We drove to Eugene and went east on Hwy. 58. We stopped for breakfast at Sunrise Café in Pleasant Hill along the way. It was just ok. We made it to the tiny little town of Chemult (on Hwy 97) around noon. Even though a call to them revealed we could check-in anytime, we decided to drive to the lake first. We hit the north end entrance and waited in line for several minutes to get to the gate. It was $30. per car, but Crater Lake is a National Park and I have a senior pass so it was free with id. Yess! We drove to the first lookout point and saw the crater. Even though it was overcast and smokey, it was still magnificent!

We drove around to the main viewing point and took a look. Earlier, I had shown Cat my pics when Lydia and I came up here. It was super foggy and the snow was still all around so we never could see the lake!

She showed me her pic of Jim when they were here last.

We took a selfie at about the same spot.

Later, the sun peeked through and we could see some blue water. Wow! After that, we hit the restaurant/café and had a sandwich and chili fries and a coke. We went over to the Crater Lake Inn (right off the crater) to see where we couldn’t get a room. Too bad – it was super nice! Bummer!  We headed back down and checked into our room. We were not the least bit impressed with our “no tell, motel”!  We knew it was an older motel (picture one from the 40s out on old Route 66 in New Mexico or Arizona!), but when we first saw it when we drove by earlier, we could see it was run down and very much not what we expected. I had visions of a refurbished old place – and the inside was very well done and clean – but the outside left a lot to be desired. They have an old plane and a firetruck on the property – we guess to maybe attract folks – but it wasn’t even close to being an attractant. We took some pics out there  

 

and, also when we got into the room. As I said, the room wasn’t that bad and everything was clean and painted and neat, so we will make the best of it!  

We unloaded and stored the bikes in the room. The room was the biggest they had and had a little alcove in the back, so the bikes did fit nicely.

 

After the drive around the lake today, we decided that it wasn’t conducive to riding around up there (sharp cliffs on the roads and no bike trails at all) so we will try something else later.  After we got everything unloaded and settled in, we set off again, this time headed north - about 20 minutes - to Crescent. A few weeks ago when Pastor Nick and his wife, Anita, were visiting at our home, they invited us to come up and see their log home since they would be vacationing there at the same time. Even though the drive took us a few miles on unpaved roads, it was worth it to see them and their place!  Nick was a contractor so he knows construction. He took a course on log home building and when the opportunity came up to buy one (in kit form), he jumped on it. Good choice!  He has spent the last 4 years going there to work on it. It’s probably 95% done and looks amazing. Big log beams and a rustic feel. I love the log cabin look and since this one is probably 3000 square feet and well laid out, I was duly impressed! 

After the home tour, we spent some time visiting and then came back toward our room. We stopped at The Chalet Restaurant, just next door to where we were staying, and had a drink and a light dinner. Very good! We went back to the room and were in for the night.

Tuesday, August 22^nd., 2023…… The motel had a complimentary breakfast and we went. Simple, continental (bagels, oatmeal, coffee) and filling. We hit the road again and went back to the park. That was where we first noticed our little ‘problem’. I forgot to stop for gas!  The light on the dash popped on, showing I only had around 15 miles left!  Damn!  We stopped and looked at a map of the park and found that there was one gas station in the park, at Masama Village. I soft pedaled the throttle and we made it with 5 miles left! Whew!  Problem 2 – they ran out of gas late yesterday! 

They said, “A truck was coming but not today”!  So, I used a hiker’s phone and called AAA. After a few dropped calls, I had an order in for gas to be delivered. But it would be a few hours. I did find cell service tapping in to the village wi-fi and gave the guy back his phone. Thank you sir!  He hung around and we chatted about his adventure. He, and a small group are here from the UK, and are hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. They started in Truckee, Calif. And were heading up to the end of the trail, in Canada. Wow! He and his group were staying in the village area waiting for pre-mailed supplies to reach them via UPS. As I mentioned, it would be a few hours so Cathye decided to go take a little hike. She found a trail and some nice scenery.

Meanwhile, I was sitting in the car at the pumps. I kept having to tell each of the cars trying to pull in behind me that they were out of gas. So, I moved over to an area and parked there. It was maybe 45 minutes later, when I heard a large truck pull in. It was a gas truck!  Yaay!  But before I called off AAA, I needed to make sure I could get gas. I waited until they had 4000 gallons in the tank and they had turned the pump back on, and then filled up. 

I was on the phone with AAA when the guy pulled up with a gas can! Oh well!  We drove back up to the rim, with the idea of taking the tram we had seen yesterday. Problem 3 – it was closed due to the smoke. We drove back up to the viewing area where we were yesterday and the water was not visible at all. You could just barely see Wizard Island in the distance. Bummer!  So, we decided to head back down, this time taking the south gate and continued on (another 50 miles) to Klamath Falls. The plan was to have dinner there. We settled on bbq and found Wubba’s 

on Google. It was easy to find and they were not crowded. Plus, the food and drinks were excellent! We split a St. Louis Rib/Tri-Tip dinner and still had food left!  After that, we spent a few minutes driving around the city before heading back home.  We made plans for tomorrow and then settled in and watched tv until bedtime. No spa here.    

Wednesday, August 23^rd., 2023…… We only saw a little rain yesterday and none was forecast for today. We  were up and going around 8:00am. We needed to move our car because the parking lot (gravel) was getting paved today. We loaded the bikes and went over to the office and got coffee and checked out. I need to mention here that the guy running the place was super!  He knew folks would be negative about the place and was very nice and accommodating. When I do my review, I will make sure to mention that. I think he hopes to make some serious changes and we wish him well.

Since we didn’t get a chance to ride our bikes, we decided to stop at Diamond Lake on the way home. Cathye knew about the great bike path they have, and I had never been, so we drove that way out of the town. It was only 30 min. away and not even out of the way (there are several ways to go back over the Cascades). Plus, Nick said they had a good breakfast at the camp lodge. We found the place and went in for breakfast. Very good. We got a map of the lake and also the paved bike trail that went all the way around it. It was 11.2 miles. We unloaded the bikes and geared up and headed out. It was fantastic! The trail was easy to follow and was indeed paved blacktop (although there were leaves and dirt on most of it – still ok). We took it easy and got used to being back on the bikes again. But no worries. We made it and the bike’s batteries were plenty capable of that range. 

We loaded the bikes back up and headed out toward home. This time we would be on Hwy 138 which took us west and came out on the I-5 at Roseburg. From there, it was about a 2 hour drive to get back home. It was a fun trip. I checked and found we put over 600 miles on the Honda. We got the bikes and the bike rack unloaded, washed, and stored away and then came in for the day. We do have a few things to clean up today and tomorrow morning. Her stepson Chris and his wife, Angie, will be flying in from Phoenix tomorrow. We did all of that and had a light dinner and watched some tv then hit the spa before calling it an early night.          

Thursday, August 24^th., 2023…… We were up early and found a few more things we wanted to work on before driving down to the Eugene airport to pick them up. On the way home, we stopped at The Junkyard Dog (a Guy Fieri Dinners, Drive-ins, and Dives choice), and had lunch. We got back home and they got set up in the guest room. A bit later, we headed up to Dos Arbolitos for dinner.  They are here because Sunday is brother Jamie’s birthday. Chris also has plans to see his other brother, Mike, who lives in Tillamook. Not sure the logistics but I think he is planning on coming here with his family.  Only thing I know is that we have made plans for a bbq tomorrow. We visited a bit before they called it a night after their long day.     

Friday, August 25^th., 2023…… The plan today was breakfast out. We wanted to take them to Kristi’s and they really enjoyed that.  I had to drive my truck and join them there because after breakfast, I left them and went over to pick up my sister to go to the Lazy Boy store in Eugene. Her couch was in and ready for pickup. We made the trip down and back and Jeremiah met us at the house and we managed to get that heavy beast inside!  I left pretty quickly after that because I had to be back in time for the guys to come to service our water filtration system. I just found the paperwork on the equipment and Cathye said she used to have a system at their house so she knew a little about them. She said we should get that done asap. Turns out she was right!  They gave me an over-the-phone guesstimate for worst case scenario of just short of $800.00. They came with all of the materials to renovate the system. Turns out it could have been worse so the bill was only $380.00. Meanwhile, Chris and Angie went out and explored some of Chris’ old haunts. We were all ready later for the bbq. We had chicken and kielbasa ready to cook. Penny and Cherrelyn came with stuff, and we had chocolate cake for Jamie. Corey and Vikki and Bailey came early so Corey could spend some more time working in our yard. Brandyn was with his mom today.  I found the misters that I knew I had stowed away in the shop garage and Corey and I hung those up. It was a little on the hotter side so they sure helped. Mike came with his three kids – Jace, Jordan, and Audrey. I haven’t spent too much time with them before, but it was nice to see kids playing and riding bikes and skateboards around here. I filled up Rylee’s pool and the three of them, plus Bailey, braved the cold well water and had a blast. Rylee didn’t mind sharing and ran and played until she couldn’t anymore!

The food and drinks were good and later, Mike got out his guitar and played a bit for us.

 

Fun times!  He and the kids are staying at his mother’s house, not too far away so he and Chris made plans to get together again.               

Saturday, August 26^th., 2023…… We ate breakfast at the house and then Chris and Angie left to go meet up with Mike. They said later that they went by the old house and then went out to McKercher Park to go swimming.  Corey and Vikki and Brandon and Bailey came over again, this time to work in the yard. Later, Chris picked up Jamie on the way back and we took the kids and Corey and Vikki finished cleaning up and met all of us at Abbey’s Pizza in Albany. Jamie’s favorite place and he always asks to go there on his birthday. We bought several pizzas and gave all of the kids money for the arcade games while we visited.

(left to right: Chris, Angie, Cathye taking pic!, Terry, Corey, Vikki, Brandyn is hiding!, Bailey, Audrey, Jordan, Jace is hiding!, Mike, Jamie).

Jordan and Jace love to mess with each other!...

 

After a bit, Mike packed up the kids and headed back home to the coast. Corey and Vikki and their kids left too. Chris and Angie took Jamie back home and came back here and we rested after another active day!